Biology at St Lawrence University

St. Lawrence's biology program starts slow but builds into something more promising than the initial numbers suggest. That $33,561 first-year salary sits slightly above both the New York and national medians, but the real story emerges by year four, when earnings jump 51% to $50,707—outpacing 93% of biology programs statewide and putting graduates well ahead of typical New York biology majors who earn around $32,738.

The debt picture reinforces the value here. At $27,000, it's remarkably low for a private liberal arts college, landing in the 5th percentile nationally. This means nearly every other biology program in the country saddles graduates with more debt. The 0.80 debt-to-earnings ratio is manageable even in that challenging first year, and by year four, graduates are earning nearly twice their debt load. While this doesn't reach the stratospheric starting salaries of Columbia or Barnard biology grads, those programs also come with significantly higher sticker prices and likely more debt.

The trajectory matters here more than the starting point. Many biology majors pursue graduate school or medical training, making that first-year salary less critical than the program's ability to position graduates for advancement. St. Lawrence delivers on that measure, combining affordable private-college debt with earnings growth that suggests strong career preparation—a combination that's hard to find among New York biology programs.